Florida State defensive end Cornellius "Tank" Carradine is a possible target for the Falcons should they want to trade up in the draft as was suggested by Peter King of Sports Illustrated. According to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons have had Carradine in for a visit:

Tank Carradine is a true beast when it comes to rushing the passer. He has a strong rip move to complement his explosive first step off the snap. He goes balls to the wall every snap and works his offensive tackles for everything they have in the run game. The Falcons could really use a natural pass-rusher like Carradine on their defensive line.

Weaknesses

He's always been in a rotation with multiple other defenders and will have to do it in the pros as well. However, this wouldn't really be an issue for the Falcons as they always rotate their entire defensive line. There's also the question of the ACL injury that he had late in the season and his recovery from it. But outside of that, the only real question is coverage ability if he is tried out at linebacker.

Carradine's never been suspended or arrested, but he does fit in well with the Falcons' locker-room style. He went to a community college for a couple of years, but that never stopped Thomas Dimitroff in the past. There would be no issues here.

Overview

Tank can play well against the run and can rush the passer ridiculously well. His potential in any scheme makes him an ideal target in today's pass-happy league. The Falcons would love his talent in the pass-rushing rotation. If they could combine him with Kroy Biermann, Jonathan Massaquoi and Osi Umenyiora on the edge, they could potentially turn in a better pass rush than the Falcons had in 2012.

How he would fit into the Falcons' plans

Tank Carradine is a top-notch talent who could very well be taken much, much higher than expected in the draft. He would likely require a trade up to acquire his services, but the Falcons taking him would be a move to develop a true pass rush long-term. Carradine can play left end or even outside linebacker in some of the 3-4 sets.

All stats used are either from Pro Football Focus's Premium Stats, ESPN, CFBStats or the NFL. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac. All recruiting rankings come from 247Sports.com.

Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, NFL and NFL Draft. He also runs DraftFalcons.com.